Grubauer stops 30 shots as Capitals crush Rangers 4-1

AP, NEW YORK

Tue, Dec 10, 2013 - Page 19

Jason Chimera, Steve Oleksy and Mikhail Grabovski scored second-period goals to power the Washington Capitals to a 4-1 win over the New York Rangers on Sunday.

Washington defenseman Nate Schmidt added a goal in the third for the Capitals, who beat Nashville at home on Saturday. Schmidt, a 22-year-old rookie, scored his first NHL goal in that game, while Grabovski’s goal on Sunday came on a penalty shot.

In only his fourth NHL game, Philipp Grubauer made 30 saves for Washington to earn his first career win, which was the Capitals’ fourth victory out of five.

Chicago’s Patrick Sharp had a goal and two assists as the Blackhawks scored a season-high three times on the powerplay in a 6-2 win over the Florida Panthers.

The Blackhawks used their potent offense to win after starting goalie Corey Crawford left in the first period because due to injury.

Marian Hossa, Brent Seabrook and Brandon Saad each had goal and an assist, while Michal Handzus and Andrew Shaw also scored for the Blackhawks.

Patrick Kane had three assists for Chicago, who ended a three-game losing streak, their longest regular-season skid since February last year.

Rookie Antti Raanta, recalled after veteran backup Nikolai Khabublin was injured on Nov. 16, stopped 29 of 31 shots for the win in relief of Crawford, who made four saves.

In St Paul, Minnesota, Josh Harding made 37 saves in another strong home outing as the Wild beat the San Jose Sharks 3-1 despite recording only 13 shots.

Zach Parise scored twice — once into an empty net — and Mikko Koivu added a goal for the Wild, who have won three of four. Patrick Marleau scored with 1 minute, 41 seconds left for San Jose.

Parise and Koivu gave Minnesota a 2-0 lead with second-period goals, with the former pushing the Wild’s edge back to two goals when he scored at 19:54.

Elsewhere on the day, the Boston Bruins defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 after Carl Soderberg and Torey Krug scored second-period power-play goals, while Mike Santorelli scored two goals and added an assist in the Vancouver Canucks’ 3-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche.